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AHistory
History · Bethlehem

Bethlehem dates to 1799, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #29 of 126 in New Hampshire. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Felsengarten, the Burt-Cheney Farm and the Rocks Estate. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1889 on, and the census since 1800.

1799founded
3on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bethlehem’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bethlehem began

When was Bethlehem founded?

1799

Bethlehem dates its founding to 1799 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 171 in 18002020 census: 2,484227 years

How historic is Bethlehem?

A

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bethlehem’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bethlehem is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #29 of 126 in New Hampshire. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bethlehem’s overall grade.
Founding era1799, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194029.2% of homes (±6.5) · typical NH town 17.5% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 26 historic buildings, 102 per 10,000 residents · typical NH town 9.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%
NewerOlder
New Hampshire towns of 2,500+ (126)Ahead of 78%

New Hampshire towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Hampshire town has 9.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bethlehem’s 102 sits above most of its state (84% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 26 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1799.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Bethlehem’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bethlehem, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1920, then more than doubled.A town in postcards18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1883–1898.On the map since 19004 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1995. Watch Bethlehem change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pierce Bridge
1873–1943
Alder Brook
1878–1905
Maplewood
1880–1962
Wing Road
1884–1899
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AlderbrookDeerfieldFive CornersMaplewoodNewtons Mobile ParkPierce Bridge
Gone or out of use
Gale River Civilian Conservation Corps CamplocaleGilmanton Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Bethlehem
Maple Street

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

People over time

Bethlehem, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,500180018501900195020001,400 in 1880Low: 866

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1920, then more than doubled.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bethlehem’s Wikipedia page.

By decade

Bethlehem, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s18 items
Bird's eye view of Bethlehem, Grafton County, N.H. 18831883Bird's eye view of Bethlehem, Grafton County, N.H. 18…Bird's eye view of Bethlehem, Grafton County, N.H. 18831883Bird's eye view of Bethlehem, Grafton County, N.H. 18…Presidential Range from Cruft's Ledge1890Presidential Range from Cruft's LedgeView from Crufts Ledge1890View from Crufts LedgeDetroit Photographic Company (0504)1897–1924Detroit Photographic Company (0504)PostcardBethlehem Street looking East, Bethlehem, White Mountains, N. H1898Bethlehem Street looking East, Bethlehem, White Mount…PostcardBethlehem and Dalton Range from Mt. Agassiz, White Mountains, New Hampshire1898Bethlehem and Dalton Range from Mt. Agassiz, White Mo…PostcardBird's-eye View, Bethlehem, N.H1898Bird's-eye View, Bethlehem, N.HPostcardCountry Club and Golf Links, Bethlehem, White Mountains, N. H1898Country Club and Golf Links, Bethlehem, White Mountai…PostcardIn the White Mountains, Bethlehem, N.H1898In the White Mountains, Bethlehem, N.HPostcardMaple Street and Town Building, Bethlehem, White Mountains, N. H1898Maple Street and Town Building, Bethlehem, White Moun…PostcardMaplewood Hotel, Maplewood, N.H1898Maplewood Hotel, Maplewood, N.HPostcardMt. Agazziz, Bethlehem, N.H1898Mt. Agazziz, Bethlehem, N.HPostcardPresidential Range, Maplewood, N.H1898Presidential Range, Maplewood, N.HPostcardRailway Station, in the White Mountains, Bethlehem, N.H1898Railway Station, in the White Mountains, Bethlehem, N…PostcardSteel Tower on Mt. Agazziz, Bethlehem, N.H1898Steel Tower on Mt. Agazziz, Bethlehem, N.HPostcardThe Sinclair, Bethlehem, N. H1898The Sinclair, Bethlehem, N. HPostcardThe Sinclair, White Mountains, Bethlehem, N.H1898The Sinclair, White Mountains, Bethlehem, N.HPostcard
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Bethlehem came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bethlehem.

Read it all →

Granted as "Lloyd's Hills" in 1774 by colonial Governor John Wentworth, the town was named for James Lloyd of Boston. It was the last of the provincial grants in New Hampshire. In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, the original grant could not be found. Lack of documentation deterred settlement until 1787, when the first permanent houses were built. Dropping its homage to Lloyd, a Loyalist, the town was incorporated as "Bethlehem" on December 27, 1799, the name having been selected on Christmas Day. There were just 33 families, with agriculture the only industry.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bethlehem, 1799 to 2010

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1799
    FoundingBethlehem is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1873Post officeThe Pierce Bridge post office opens
  5. 1878Post officeThe Alder Brook post office opens
  6. 1880Post officeThe Maplewood post office opens
  7. 1883In the archiveBird's eye view of Bethlehem, Grafton County, N.H. 1883
  8. 1890In the archivePresidential Range from Cruft's Ledge
  9. 20th century
  10. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1905Post officeThe Alder Brook post office closes
  12. 1943Post officeThe Pierce Bridge post office closes
  13. 1962Post officeThe Maplewood post office closes
  14. 21st century
  15. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 2,526
On the map

Bethlehem on the map, 1900 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bethlehem. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bethlehem on the 1900 USGS mapBethlehem on the 1935 USGS mapBethlehem on the 1982 USGS mapBethlehem on the 1995 USGS map1900Whitefield sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bethlehem.

Every building

Bethlehem, building by building, 1889–1923

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Bethlehem fire insurance map, 1889, sheet 11889Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bird's eye view of Bethlehem, Grafton County, N.H. 1883
Retake this viewBird's eye view of Bethlehem, Grafton County, N.H. 1883, 1883

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bethlehem’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Bethlehem

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
26
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Felsengarten
FelsengartenBurt-Cheney FarmRocks Estate
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Cape Cod1
Shingle1
FelsengartenBuilding
Burt-Cheney FarmCape Cod
Rocks EstateShingle

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bethlehem

Nobody well known was born in Bethlehem itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Bode MillerAmerican alpine ski racer · b. 1977
Eleanor H. PorterAmerican novelist · b. 1868
Solon Irving BaileyAmerican astronomer · b. 1854
William StokoeScholar of American Sign Language · b. 1919
E
Earl TupperAmerican inventor · b. 1907
John W. WeeksAmerican politician · b. 1860
Help out

Finish Bethlehem’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBird's eye view of Bethlehem, Grafton C…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Carroll3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLittleton5 historic placesA−Franconia4 historic placesAWhitefield1 historic placeASugar HillIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHart's LocationIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bethlehem’s history

What year was Bethlehem founded?

In 1799, according to Wikidata. Bethlehem’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1800 counted 171 people here.

How does Bethlehem rank for history?

Bethlehem is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #29 of 126 in New Hampshire. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Bethlehem?

Three places: the Felsengarten (listed 1973), the Burt-Cheney Farm (1982) and the Rocks Estate (1984).

How old are the homes in Bethlehem?

29% of Bethlehem’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1973.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (16), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.